A video depicting a group of teenage girls engaging in blackface within a Boston Sephora store has gained widespread attention on various social media platforms with Margarita Botto identified as the person responsible
The online community has successfully identified the chaperone accompanying the young girls. Concurrently, the makeup outlet has issued a statement denouncing the incident.
Who is Margarita Botto of Guatemala City behind the Sephora Boston racist blackface video on Twitter/X
The video was shared by Temi Ojora, a University of Southern California student, on her now-private TikTok account. In her post, she expressed her profound “disgust and disturbance” at the scene. The video captures a teenager adorned with dark makeup resembling a mask on her face.
These are the disgusting humans that were in Sephora panting blackface.
Margarita M Botto from Guatemala. pic.twitter.com/Ow7ExA1bbR
— Aren (@phevelous) February 14, 2024
In the background, a staff member voices concern, stating, “This is the type of behavior that can jeopardize employment opportunities, college admissions, not to mention how deeply offensive it is.”
Additionally, the footage includes a glimpse of one of the girls’ chaperones, who, at a certain point, walks away from the camera. It was disclosed that the chaperone, along with one of the girls involved in the blackface incident, confronted Ojora and insisted on her deleting the video.
Netizens Identified Chaperone
As of the current article, the TikTok video had spread across various social media platforms, accumulating millions of views online. Internet sleuths took on the task of identifying the chaperone and successfully pinpointed Margarita Botto, a resident of Guatemala City.
According to information shared by TikTok user @thatdaneshguy, Margarita Botto, rumored to be one of the teenagers’ mothers, works as a molecular biologist and resides in Guatemala City.
Additionally, user @phevelous attached a screenshot suggesting Botto’s Facebook account, although no specific details about her were available at the time of writing.
Upon the identification of Margarita as the chaperone, many individuals expressed their displeasure on the internet regarding the incident and the behavior of the teenagers involved.
Dear @Sephora,
You have an amazing employee who stepped in when a group of teenagers and their mothers walked in and used your samples to do blackface while recording themselves making animal noises.
I hope this goes viral so this young woman gets a raise instead of fired for… pic.twitter.com/5UYlboPVvu
— Ryan Shead (@RyanShead) February 12, 2024
Sephora Cosmetic Retailer Issued Statement
Following the increased attention surrounding the Sephora incident, the renowned cosmetics retailer issued a statement expressing “We are extremely disappointed by the behavior of these shoppers at our Prudential Center location, and as such, they were asked to leave our premises. Under no circumstance is this type of behavior tolerated at Sephora.”
For those unfamiliar, blackface involves the use of makeup to imitate the appearance of a Black person and is considered offensive due to its troubling historical origins.
The practice originated in the mid-19th century minstrel shows, where Caucasian performers darkened their skin, donned worn-out clothing, and perpetuated stereotypical representations of Black individuals.
These shows often depicted Black people as enslaved Africans on American plantations, portraying them as lazy, cowardly, and hypersexual. As of the time of writing this article, Margarita Botto had not publicly addressed the blackface controversy.
Ya vieron esto. Margarita Botto de Guatemala y sus pedazos de algo hicieron Black Face en Sephora y son noticia en TikTok. Que harán en Guatemala.? Alguien los conoce? Hagan su magia X pic.twitter.com/OXmoW9bwFr
— mgsiekagt (@mabesiekavizza) February 14, 2024
The incident at Sephora coincides with the emergence of the “Sephora kids” trend, which has gained traction on the internet. This trend involves recording teenagers engaging in disruptive behavior at makeup stores, such as damaging tester products and mistreating staff members.
Numerous Sephora employees have expressed their opinions online, suggesting that unaccompanied youngsters should be restricted from entering the upscale beauty outlet.